This invention pertains generally to force transducers and more particularly to a load cell in which the magnitude of a force, such as the weight of a load, is determined by the stress produced in a bending beam to which the load is applied.
Bending beam force transducers have been utilized in stress analysis and electronic weighing applications. Examples of such transducers are found in U.S. Pat. No. 3,951,221 and in co-pending application Ser. No. 721,981, both assigned to the assignee herein.
Heretofore, load cells of this type have been provided with different capacities by varying the thickness of the bending beam, utilizing a thicker beam for larger loads. With low capacity load cells, e.g. less than 2 pounds, the beam becomes so thin that problems such as "creep" or the inability to produce consistent readings for a given load arise. In addition, as the thickness is reduced, the strain gauges and the means by which the strain gauges are bonded to the beam become a significant factor in the bending of the beam.